ABSTRACT Whilst chalcogenide glass ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) can be useful in the monitoring of important trace metals in the aquatic environment such as copper, iron, mercury, cadmium, lead, etc., a limited knowledge of the interfacial chemistry and physics of these ISEs is obstructing their widespread use in analytical/environmental chemistry. This paper will present a review of the state-of-the-art information pertaining to the surface chemistry/physics of chalcogenide glass ISEs in saline media, with a view to providing useful information to environmental scientists who are attempting to develop reliable and robust ISE methods for the analysis of these environmentally important trace metals. Furthermore, this paper will focus on the application of three mature electrochemical and surface analysis techniques [namely, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS)] in mechanistic studies of chalcogenide glass ISEs.
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